Is anyone out there running Nitrogen in your tires? If so what do you think of it? Is it worth the cost?

 

What is the theory of running nitrogen in the tires?

 

Dryer gas with no moisture in it.

Less subject to expansion/contraction giving you more consistant pressure over temperature range.

No oxygen, thus no oxidizing breakdown of the rubber internally.

Virtually all commercial and business jets use this gas because of these properties.

I think that good ol' AIR has worked pretty well in passenger vehicles for enough years to be pretty proven as an acceptable choice. That's what I'm going to stick with.

If, on the other hand, you need the better properties afforded over a temperature range of +125F to -40F&C, and altitudes up to 51,000 feet, then dry nitrogen would be the best bet for YOU!

Pop

 

SpringerPop, you have just unleashed the best kept secret in the tire industry.
No expansion. Reduced blowouts because of heat related failures. Look deeper into it. It is the only way to ....Fly.. errr drive.
High-Tide

 

Here's a whole thread on it.
The search feature works wonders.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=431582

 

Well, the rubber in my LTX's must be denser. They usually last 70K without having to put air in them. Unless I have a flat.

 

Don't get confused by the "nitrogen isn't affected by heat" claim. ALL gasses, nitrogen included, must follow basic laws of physics. That is, when they heat up, they expand predictably. When they cool down, they also contract predictably.

What makes nitrogen so useful in tires is threefold:

1) Nitrogen molecules are a little bigger than oxygen molecules (according to a handy-dandy physics manual, about 7% bigger), so they don't migrate through tire walls quite as easily or as quickly.
2) When you use nitrogen, there is no oxygen on the inside of the tire, which eliminates tire oxydation from the inside (doesn't affect oxydation from the outside... usually tread wear or tread oxydation kills mine - never had a problem with internal oxydation causing a tire failure.)
3) And, if you live in a climate with great changes in temperature, nitrogen gas has no moisture in it. Moisture will condense out of the air in a cold tire at low temperature, lowering the pressure considerably more than the normal gas pressure decrease with temperature. So, you refill to the correct pressure. Then, as you drive, the tire heats up, the moisture evaporates, and the tire pressure increases above spec. So, you are either driving with tire pressure too low (when tires are cold) or tire pressure too high (after they warm up). Not to mention that the moisture can freeze out of the air in very, very cold temperatures.

I live in Southern california. Nitrogen would be a waste of money here. If I lived in North Dakota, I might think otherwise.

 

i use it... my tires stay closer to the pressure i set them at even though they get hot while towing and they get really cold in the winter...! hey.. if it's good enough for Nascar... it's good enough for my mule..! lol..!

 

Where do you get it?

 

i got my new tires this summer at tire warehouse... they have a machine that runs all night that seperates the nitrogen out of the air and fills a storage tank... for a small fee they filled all my tires and they will check them whenever... plus i get free rotation for the life of the tires and i got the insurance for road hazards... good thing i did... i got a HUGE nail in one of my tires a week after i got my new tires... they fixed it right up and filled the tire back up with nitrogen... no charge...!

 

that is a serious case of psd love right there johnny!!!!!!!!!

 

well, i got lucky... i had been tellin' the wife for 6 months i needed new tires... she's like ya sure you do... so.. we are coming back from her uncle's place in Maine... raining cats and dogs... and over an inch of water on the road... the truck starts to hydoplane a little so i start to slow down... i was still doin' 65 when a wind gust blew the back end of my truck out from under me... sideways at 65 is not much fun... the wife FREAKED OUT...! once i got her back under control i said.."well, i've been telling you i needed new tires for 6 months... did you think i was lying...?" she went to the store the next day, pulled out the plastic and said: "get whatever you want, just make sure your truck doesn't do what it did yesterday ever again..." talk about a kid in a candystore..! my mule doesn't spin out anymore unless i WANT it too..!

 

Wow,

I can't believe what I'm hearing!

The whole Nitrogen thing is nothing more than an expensive sham.

Any body want to take a stab at what the air you are breathing is mostly made up of?

Com'mon guys, I know that you guys are better than this!

 

You can get nitro. at the welding supply, I fillled up apx 10 tires (265x75x16)@about 70 psi. Really don't know if it will make a difference in the long haul but sounded good.I will know when I wear out the set of tires that i have on, if It will make a difference.
gseeders

 

actually, it wasn't that expensive, and as for being a sham.. i dunno... the theory is sound.. if you can maintain a more consistent tire pressure, your tire wear should be more even... all other things being equall, i thought i would give it a try... so far my tires are wearing pretty evenly... as for the air you breath being mostly nitrogen, this is true, and it is why the tire warehouse can sell it so cheap... the machine seperates the nitrogen right out of the air... it is an inert gas so it is supposed to be better.... we'll see...